A Facebook campaign to get out the vote for the Apple II on this Fortune Magazine poll has raised the Apple II from 3% to 13% (at the time of this post). Join us! Show your retro-computing pride and help get the Apple II the love it deserves by voting Apple II today!

We are excited to introduce Nox Archaist, a new role playing game we are developing exclusively for the Apple II platform and emulators. Currently we are targeting a release date sometime this year. Nox Archaist will be available 100% free and the complete assembly source code will be posted on our blog as development progresses.

Nox Archaist is a 2D tile based fantasy RPG with a classic Apple II look and feel. We are taking advantage of the full 128k available on the IIe and later models which will help us create features and effects that may not have been seen in vintage 1980s Apple games. Game play videos and screenshots showing the current evolution of the Nox Archaist game engine are available below.

Please send us your comments and suggestions! We would like to include many community sourced ideas into the game.

http://www.6502workshop.com – Nox Archaist website with our blog, current gameplay video, screenshots, and gifs.

Demo gameplay video featuring the current game engine.

6502 Workshop Mission:

• Develop a fun game CRPG enthusiasts will enjoy playing
• Include ideas and feature sourced from the Apple II community when possible
• Explore a modern evolution of the Apple II RPG genre
• Create a repository of hard to find technical information on developing Apple II games
• Determine how many two layer shrubberies with a path down the middle will fit on the Apple II hi-res screen

Nox Archaist Technical Details:

• Runs on any 128k Apple IIe or later system
• Physical machines and modern emulators are supported
• Current game testing is being done on a physical Apple IIe and in AppleWin
• Coded entirely in 6502 Assembler, no construction sets used

Vintage Computer Festivals are like no other events! Come join us for a few days of family-friendly historic computing awesomeness. Each event has a hands-on exhibition hall where you can see and try computers from the 1960s-1980s. There are also keynote lectures, technical classes, special attractions, and much more.

There are four U.S. editions of the Vintage Computer Festival scheduled for 2016.

VCF Southeast — April 2-3, Atlanta region
contact: earl@baugh.org

VCF East — April 15-17, central New Jersey
Online ticketing and exhibit registration is open!
contact: evan@vcfed.org

VCF West — August 6-7, Silicon Valley
Online ticketing and exhibit registration is open!
contact: erik@vintage-computer.com

VCF Midwest — September 10-11, Chicago region
contact: silent700@gmail.com

Want a VCF show in your area? Let us know! – Contact info@vcfed.org
Be sure to check out the Vintage Computer Forums!

In this episode of Drop /// Inches, we interview Taylor Pohlman, who joined Apple in 1979 and became the Apple /// Product Marketing Manager in 1981, managing the “Reintroduction” of the Apple ///. He is also well known for the series of columns in Softalk magazine (“The Third BASIC”) introducing concepts in Business BASIC programming. Later, he left Apple to found Forethought (the company responsible for FileMaker and PowerPoint), co-founded Regent Systems, managed the development of GS-BASIC for the Apple IIGS, and then returned to Apple from 1986 to 1992, and is currently principal at Rohner & Associates, having worked with Sybase and Autodesk along the way.

We talked with Taylor about the innovations the Apple /// and SOS brought to the computing landscape, the launch at Disneyland, frustrations and missed opportunities with the Apple ///. We also heard about several other things, not specific to the Apple ///, such as the early days at Apple, interactions with Steve Jobs, launching the black Bell & Howell Apple II, using an Apple II to rock a baby cradle triggered by sound, Apple employees storming the Lisa building in Halloween costumes, the short-lived Apple IV, and lots more.

ZDNet has posted an interesting story on how clones of popular computers (notably, copies of the Apple II) built during the communist era have influenced today’s technologists in Bulgaria, Romania and other former Soviet Bloc countries. Even today, the Apple II Community is benefiting; Plamen Vayssilov’s A2Heaven.com is a great example.

Back in 2011, David Greelish ran a successful Kickstarter to republish “Historically Brewed”, a series of ‘zines for fans of retro-computing. It was one of the first Kickstarter projects I’ve backed, and I was pleased with the results. It’s not an Apple II-specific ‘zine, but there are plenty of articles of interest for the Apple II user to make for a pleasant, nostalgic experience. I recommend it.

David has generously made the 446MB PDF version free for everyone. You can download it HERE.

The estate of Bob Bishop has been selling off his various collections, and have now posted Bob’s modified Apple II (serial #13) to eBay. It’s not completely original but no one should care. This is the machine that Mr. Bishop used to program all of the nifty software we know so well, like APPLE-VISION, APPLE-TALKER and DUNG BEETLES. UPDATE (Dec 15, 2015, 4:58 PM EST): The computer sold for 1$7,877.00 USD + $18.80 S&H.

Press Release

Seattle, Washington — November 23, 2015 — Apple Pugetsound Program Library Exchange is proud to announce the immediate availability of the Call-A.P.P.L.E. Magazine 1978 Compendium.

The Call-A.P.P.L.E. 1978 Compendium is a complete collection of Call-A.P.P.L.E. magazine issues originally published in 1978 by Val Golding and the members of A.P.P.L.E. The 1978 Compendium is a fully enhanced version of the issues giving the reader a window into the past of the Apple computing revolution as it was happening. All 10 issues from the first year of Call-A.P.P.L.E. magazine are included. Over 100 pages of material, enhanced and restored in high-quality grayscale, complete with the advertisements and program listings from those issues.

With articles and programs by a number of Apple computing legends, there are unique items such as the introduction of DOS 3.1, the Disk II, and a brief history of Apple as given by Michael Scott, former CEO of Apple at a meeting of A.P.P.L.E. members.

Introduced by Bill Martens of A.P.P.L.E., with a forward by the founder Val Golding, the Call-A.P.P.LE. Magazine 1978 Compendium represents a nostalgic look back at the early years of the Apple computing revolution through the eyes of the Apple Pugetsound Program Library Exchange (A.P.P.L.E.) User Group.

Key Features:

• Forward by A.P.P.L.E. Founder Val Golding.
• All of the 1978 issues including the articles and programs written by a number of Apple computing legends including: Darrell Aldrich, Ron Aldrich, John Backman, Dan Chapman, Robert Clardy, John Cook, John Covington, Jeffrey Finn, Val Golding, Alan Hill, Dick Hubert, Bob Huelsdonk, Gene Jackson, Neil Konzen, S.H. Lam, Steve Paulson, Dana Redington, Michael Scott, Dick Sedgewick, Michael Thyng, Roger Wagner, Michael Weinstock, Randy Wigginton, Don Williams, and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.
• A brief history of Apple by former Apple Inc. CEO Michael Scott.
• The first documentation of Integer and Applesoft outside of Apple.
• Programs and tips provided but the people who became leaders in the Apple community.
• Reviews of the Disk II, DOS 3.1, Applesoft, the first printer for the Apple II, and many other revolutionary products.
• 120 perfect bound 8.5 x 11 pages.
• All issues enhanced and restored in high-quality grayscale.
• Produced by long-time Apple historians Brian Wiser and Bill Martens.

Pricing:
The book is available in softcover for $19.95 and hardcover for $29.95 through the Lulu bookstore.

Production Editors:
Brian Wiser — Apple historian and archivist, Producer of the documentary film Done The Impossible: The Fans’ Tale of Firefly & Serenity, Beagle Bros and Applied Engineering webmaster, co-producer of The WOZPAK Special Edition and Call-A.P.P.L.E. magazine.

Bill Martens — Apple historian and enthusiast, Programmer, President of Apple Pugetsound Program Library Exchange (A.P.P.L.E.) and co-producer of Call-A.P.P.L.E. magazine.

About Apple Pugetsound Program Library Exchange:
A.P.P.L.E. has been a global Apple user group since 1978, with membership peaking near 50,000 in 1985. Offering many services, A.P.P.L.E. is also a book publisher and game developer. In 2013, the “The WOZPAK Special Edition” book was released containing Steve Wozniak’s restored hand-written notes and printouts about his Apple II computer, as well as a forward from Steve Wozniak and other Apple legends.

Press information is available at: www.callapple.org/press

This would make an excellent Christmas gift for the Apple II enthusiast, just saying.